How Addiction Affects the Brain

It was once thought that addiction was a result of being weak-willed, that addicts could stop using drugs if they wanted to. But research has shown that is not the case. In fact , after prolonged use of an addictive substance, the "circuits" in the brain virtually become "rewired."

When a chemical enters the brain, it is absorbed through receptor site. Drugs entering these receptors are believed to act on the brain like the body's natural chemicals (such as endorphins and dopamine) that are involved in producing the sensation of pleasure. When the body getting such chemicals from an outside source, the brain produces much less of its own and becomes dependent on the outside source. As the brain adapts to the drugs presence, the person using the drug builds tolerance and must continually increase the dosage in order to produce the initial pleasure sensations. However most addicts report that they never achieved that initial sense of euphoria or well being again. Thus begins the cycle of ever increasing intake of drugs to produce a constantly declining experience.

If the drug is stopped abruptly, it usually triggers a withdrawal syndrome. Symptoms may vary depending on the substance used and the length of the addiction, but common symptoms may include anxiety, irritability, chills and hot flashes, nausea, cramps and even death. As a person goes through withdrawal, the body "begs" for more of the addictive drug in order to escape the misery of withdrawal. Understandably giving up the drug is difficult.

This inability to stop using the drug is a characteristic of addiction. Although an addicted person may intellectually understand the destructive consequences of addiction, he may not be able to stop the compulsive use of the drug even after the effects of physical withdrawal have passed. This is because of a process which has been ingrained in the users conditioned responses. Over a long period of abuse, the poor judgment and self destructive decision making increases and these triggered responses become part of the automatic response system. The addict becomes overly reactive to changes in stimuli and fails to cope with minor stresses of life.

This is the primary battleground for those wishing to recover from addiction. Addiction ultimately is a "thinking problem" and the user must constantly check his decisions, his reactivity to events and circumstances, his motivations, as well as his perceptions of reality. In order to do this he needs a "normal template" to base good decisions on which is why a good support system is so essential to successful recovery.